After Noon
by AlphabetNumberSymbol
Summary: The days seem to be repeating themselves, and each day, as the clock strikes twelve, something horrible happens in the Vongola manor. Will Tsuna be able to break this vicious cycle? Or will he be doomed to watching his beloved guardians die time and time again? Oneshot, minor R27


**A/N:** Oh man, my first ever fanfic. I kind of wanted my first fanfic to be cute and fluffy, but this was the first one I finished, so I guess this is how I'll start. There's not much to explain really, so please enjoy!

* * *

Something's been bothering Tsuna all morning, but he can't quite put a finger on it. He tries his best to ignore it, since his Intuition isn't ringing any alarms, but the sensation lingers in the background. His guardians can tell that he's a bit on edge, but all he can say when they ask is that nothing is wrong.

It isn't until midday that something finally happens.

Hayato has just turned in his weekly security report, and Tsuna insisted his right hand stick around for lunch. The two are chatting away when suddenly Tsuna's Intuition flares sharply, causing him to straighten up in his chair and glance around nervously.

"Haya-"

Tsuna's words are cut off as the glass window behind his desk shatters, followed closely by a dull thud. He remains frozen as he stares at the sight before him.

Hayato, slumped over the desk. Dead. Blood, seeping through silver locks. Dead. His best friend, gone a thousand years too soon.

Dead.

Before Tsuna can so much as breathe, everything fades to black.

•■•■•■•

Something's been bothering Tsuna all morning, but he can't quite put a finger on it. He tries his best to ignore it, since his Intuition isn't ringing any alarms, but the sensation lingers in the background. His guardians can tell that he's a bit on edge, but all he can say when they ask is that nothing is wrong.

He thinks it might have something to do with the nightmare he had this morning. He often feels out-of-sorts after dreaming of his friends' deaths, especially after such gorey and realistic scenes. He does his best to put it out of mind, and soon enough, the clock is striking twelve.

Hayato drops off the weekly security report, and Tsuna decides to have lunch in the kitchen instead of his office, the vestiges of his dream replaying in his mind as he gets a wave of deja vu. Luckily, Hayato easily agrees, and the two head to the east kitchen. When they get there, they are greeted by Takeshi and Chrome.

"Hey Tsuna, Hayato!" Takeshi says brightly, Chrome nodding a greeting from his side.

Tsuna, calmed by the presence of his friends, is about to take a bite of his sandwich when his Intuition spikes suddenly. He glances around in question, when Takeshi begins to cough roughly. Looking to his friend with concern, his concern quickly transforms into horror when he sees that Takeshi is coughing up blood. Purple smoke is steadily streaming from the soda can he'd been drinking, as well as his mouth and nostrils. Before anyone can react, Takeshi collapses forward, no longer breathing. Tsuna doesn't even register Chrome's horrified scream in the background, or Hayato shouting for help. All he sees is what's in front of him.

Takeshi, his last breath gurgling from his throat. Dead. Purple smoke, lazily wisping away from his slackened jaw. Dead. Once kind brown eyes now gazing soullessly straight into Tsuna's.

Dead.

Everything fades to black.

•■•■•■•

Something's been bothering Tsuna all morning, but he can't quite put a finger on it. He tries his best to ignore it, since his Intuition isn't ringing any alarms, but the sensation lingers in the background. His guardians can tell that he's a bit on edge, but all he can say when they ask is that nothing is wrong.

When he picks up the morning paper from Hayato, the date draws his attention. He isn't sure why, but it seems… wrong. It isn't far off for him to forget what day it is, as he often spends days on end in his office without realizing, so he pushes the issue aside. He thinks he's just feeling a bit tripped up over his nightmare from this morning. He often feels out-of-sorts after dreaming of his friends' deaths, especially after one so gorey and realistic. Although it is the first time he had such an oddly… continuous dream. He does his best to put it out of mind, and soon enough, the clock strikes twelve.

When Hayato drops off the weekly security report, Tsuna is about ready to toss his guts from the strong sense of deja vu he's been getting all day. His nightmare from before still on his mind, he really just wants Hayato out of his office, and so he tells his right hand that he's not feeling well. Of course, Hayato insists Tsuna go see Ryohei, and Tsuna readily agrees.

Ryohei normally spends the lunch hour in the gym-even now unable to go more than a few hours without expending some energy-so the two head over there. Hayato, not wanting to spend any more time than necessary around Ryohei and his exuberance, makes his excuses and heads off, making Tsuna promise to tell him if he's sick. Tsuna spots Ryohei over by the punching bags, suddenly no longer feeling the strong sense of deja vu from before.

Weirded out, but deciding to stick around and talk with his Sun, who he hadn't had the chance to sit and chat with in a few weeks, he heads over to where Ryohei is. The other notices his approach and greets him with an enthusiastic yell. Tsuna frowns when that yell turns from enthusiastic to horrified, the other sprinting towards him full speed. His Intuition spikes and he looks up just in time to see one of the light fixtures headed straight for him.

Except, instead of hitting him, Ryohei shoves him out of the way. Winded from the hit, Tsuna sits up only to see Ryohei, his Sun, sprawled out on the floor.

Dead.

Black.

•■•■•■•

Something is very, very wrong. Tsuna can no longer pass it off as coincidence. He's jittery and restless, and his guardians are quick to notice, also on edge. When they ask him what's wrong, all he can do is shake his head. He has no idea how to explain, and there's still the chance that it's mere coincidence he had so many similar dreams. Despite his unease, his Intuition is merely humming in the background, on alert, but not sensing any immediate or even future danger. Something is wrong.

Tsuna frowns to himself when he picks up the morning paper from Hayato, eyes immediately falling on the date.

"Isn't this the one from yesterday?" Tsuna asked, feeling greatly disturbed when Hayato glances at him in confusion.

"No, Tenth, it's today's paper." When Tsuna went pale and gripped the newspaper in his hands, skimming the articles with a fervent gaze, Hayato frowned in concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Tsuna was already running off to his office, crinkled newspaper in hand, muttering to himself. _'This can't be real. If this is a dream, my mind must hate me more than I could have ever imagined. There's no way this is real.'_

When Hayato comes in at noon with the security report, it's to find Tsuna muttering to himself, papers scattered around the office. Tsuna nearly rips the report from Hayato's hands, and flips through it, eyes growing wider with each page.

'_No, no, no. This can't be real… please be a dream… it's just a dream…'_

"Tenth, you're starting to worry me. What's wrong?"

Tsuna grips his Storm's shoulders, eyes panicked. How is he supposed to tell his right hand that he's lived the same day three times, and saw one of his guardians die in front of him each time? He opens his mouth to at least make an attempt, but then there's the shattering of glass and his hands go slack, allowing the body of his beloved friend to slip from his fingers and drop to the floor with a deafening _thud_.

Everything fades to black.

•■•■•■•

Everything is wrong. So, so wrong. Tsuna refuses to leave his bed, refuses to let his guardians in. He ignores their questions of concern, the knocks on the door. What can he say? That one of them will be forced to die, and he will be able to do _nothing_. He thinks maybe, just maybe, if he doesn't leave his room this dream will end. Everything will be okay again.

Except it won't, because eventually Takeshi, Hayato, Chrome, and Reborn all kick down his door, letting themselves in. Tsuna can't handle their worry and concern, and finally admits to why he's holed himself up. They reassure him, tell him it must just be a dream. That the mansion is safe. They are strong, they wouldn't die so easily. Tsuna lets himself feel reassured.

But then his Intuition sparks and Chrome's feather-light body slumps into his lap from where she had sat next to him. Dead. A thin blade emerges from the back of her skull. Dead. Sweet, kind and caring Chrome, her face peaceful even in death. Gone.

Black.

•■•■•■•

Tsuna sits in a tree in the gardens, writing in a thin paper journal. This is the third time he's gone through the events of the past month in writing. He wonders if it can still be considered a month when it's just the same six hours over and over and _over_. He's taken to writing it down in an attempt to figure it all out. Seeing it all laid out before him helps.

_Hayato- death by gunshot in office (x4), death by wire trap in 3rd floor west wing (x1), death by poisoning in 2nd floor east kitchen (x1), death by structural collapse in 2nd floor gym (x1)_

_Takeshi-death by poisoning in 2nd floor east kitchen (x1), death by gunshot in 2nd floor west wing (x2), death by exploding microwave in 2nd floor east kitchen (x2)_

_Ryohei-death by structural collapse in 2nd floor gym (x1), death by poisoned arrows in 3rd floor east wing (x1), death by electric shock in 1st floor infirmary (x1)_

_Chrome-death by stab wound in my room (x2), death by poison in 2nd floor east kitchen (x1), death by structural collapse in 3rd floor west wing (x1)_

_Mukuro-death by gunshot in personal quarters (x1), death by electric shock in 2nd floor west kitchen (x1), death by evisceration in north gardens (x3)_

_Kyoya-death by gunshot in north gardens (x2), death by structural collapse in personal quarters (x1)_

_Reborn-death by multiple gunshot wounds near any window (x3), death by structural collapse on roof (x1)_

_Sidenotes:_

_Only one death per day_

_Always after noon_

_Always within sight_

_Always wake up at 6.00 on the dot_

_Can never escape guardians for long_

_No tangible sign of Mist flames_

_No security brea-_

Tsuna is interrupted from his note taking when he senses movement out of the corner of his eye. With a resigned sigh, he closes the notebook. Checking his watch, he sees that it's five past noon. Nearly time then. He looks up and sees Kyoya frowning at him from the next highest tree branch. He's so tired of seeing his guardians die before him, but he will at least give them the respect of not ignoring them in the moments before their death. His intuition sparks and he feels the ice take him over. He idly wonders how it'll happen this time.

Kyoya narrows his eyes at Tsuna, and is about to say something-possibly to berate him for acting so herbivorous-when the previously very sturdy tree branch beneath him snaps off without warning. Normally Kyoya would easily be able to grab another branch and save himself, but a poorly placed branch just below bursts through his chest, leaving him skewered and gurgling blood. The tears stream silently down Tsuna's face.

He is so tired.

It fades to black.

•■•■•■•

He slowly loses track of the days. He thinks it might be day 100. Or was that yesterday? He can't be sure. He's tried everything at this point. Every single room in the mansion, every last inch of the gardens. There's no escape.

The one time he tried leaving the mansion, he instantly blacked out at noon. What little relief he felt was ground to dust the moment he opened his eyes to see all of his Elements dying in agony before him. Worst of all were the orange flames burning down the world around them, burning up his guardians bodies. The same flames coating Tsuna's hands. His flames.

It's safe to say he never left the grounds after that.

He's spent the last while lying lifelessly in his bed. Perhaps ten days now? It's ended with Chrome's death every time, but at this point the shame, defeat, and utter _exhaustion_ wreaking havoc within him have made it hard for him to feel any more guilt than usual. He lets out a hysterical laugh, silently apologizing to Chrome for letting her die so much.

At least it's one of the least painful deaths.

The door to his room bursts open for the dozenth time, and Tsuna tiredly sits up in bed. If he's going to let Chrome die time after time like this, he can at least hold her in her final moments. He freezes, however, when he sees who exactly broke down the door. The people are different. It's always been Takeshi, Hayato, Chrome, and Reborn.

Instead, _Kyoya, _Hayato, Chrome, and Reborn stand before him. Confusion and hope swirl within him for the first time in days, but Tsuna remains silent as he allows fate to take its course. How will Kyoya's presence change things?

He's mildly disappointed when Chrome still dies in his arms, but he can't ignore this. Whoever is doing this to him has made an error. It gives him hope that this won't last forever. Maybe he'll be able to see the clock strike one, without the death of a loved one.

With hope within his soul, Tsuna watches the world fade to black.

•■•■•■•

It's been roughly nine hundred days now. Almost three years. Well, technically, it hasn't even been two hundred full days, but Tsuna didn't feel like arguing semantics with himself. He'd started taking his own life a while back. When the glitch first occurred, he had hoped whoever had stuck him in this nightmare of a time loop would eventually mess up and he'd be able to break free. Instead, the deaths became more gruesome. Wholly unrealistic too, such as his Sun bursting into flames for no reason, or his Cloud suddenly vomiting up and choking on deadly amounts of blood. Sometimes he would even have to watch as two or more of his guardians died in increasingly horrific and traumatic ways.

So he resorted to killing himself as soon as he woke up. He supposed it was a small mercy his captors even let him, seeing as they had some influence over the events of the time loop. It was always quick and painless. He would simply open his eyes, reach for the gun under his pillow, and end it right then and there. It's nearly habit at this point. Wake up and die. Wake up and die.

He reaches under the pillow, expecting cold metal and being greeted by empty space. Nothing but the soft fabric of the sheets.

They've taken everything from him, and he is helpless to watch as his family is murdered. Day after day. Time after time.

Until everything fades to black.

•■•■•■•

Tsuna floats on a cloud of darkness. His eyes are closed, but he sees the world around him. A shifting, swirling mass of black and darkest grey. There is no up or down here. No left or right. There is just him and the black.

Noises reach him from the nothingness. It has been hours, days, years. He cannot know. He gave in somewhere around the third year, and has hovered in the darkness for at least that long. Time is a negligible factor when it's just you and the dark. He almost forgot what it felt like to hear something more than the thrumming of blood in his veins, or the whisper of air through his windpipes.

It's loud. He wants it to stop.

It sounds as if someone is yelling.

Another voice cuts in, words of reassurance.

Muffled syllables and rolling pitches, Tsuna's mind takes a moment to process the vibrations violating his ear drums. He begins to recognize words. These voices are familiar.

'_I wish… go back and skin…..ose bastards ali... They die...too peacefu… death...'_

'_We... focus on Tsuna rig… now…. M...k..R…'_

'_Oya oya…. Doubt….better than….do not worry….Ts...yosh…'_

The noises increase to near deafening levels before fading back down to what Tsuna remembers is supposed to be normal. It still hurts his ears after so long of drifting in silence. The black slowly brightens, turning grey. Muffled bursts of color and drifting shadows come into view, before suddenly cutting back to black. He can still sense shadows moving before him, and he realizes he had closed his eyes. He feels comfortable, the sensationless sea of inky darkness transforming into lukewarm water, his body floating comfortably.

Something grazes against his shoulder, and he startles awake, sensations flooding his system all at once. It's too bright, everything hurts. He's hypersensitive and numb all at once, everything coming in slowly and all at the same time. He squeezes his eyes shut and claps his hands over his ears. After some time of just breathing and sitting still, his body calms down. He cracks his eyes open a minimal amount, and sees that he's sitting in some sort of large tub. The thing that had grazed him was…

He blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness. It'd been awhile since he saw color and light. There's someone beside him. Who…? Oh, Hayato. His captors must have decided to switch things up, and forced him out of his little sea of darkness. Hmm, well, it has been a while since he saw his Storm. May as well make the most of it before he dies again.

Tsuna reaches up, half flopping onto the silverette as he pulls him into a hug, his head resting in the crook of his neck. He feels oddly weak, his body normally being in tip top shape due to the nature of the illusions, but he passes it off. He closes his eyes, simply enjoying the closeness of his right hand man. His Storm. He tries not to think about how the last time he saw Hayato, the man's limbs had progressively rotted off, eventually leaving nothing but a bug ridden torso and head. No, this Hayato is healthy and in one piece, for now. He wonders how the other will die this time.

"Tenth, thank god. You're safe now." Hayato returned the hug, enveloping Tsuna within his arms as his flames did the same. Tsuna stiffened when he realized the flames of all his guardians and Reborn were there. Bad things happened when they were all gathered in the same spot. Scenes of fire, blood and destruction flash before Tsuna's eyes. The only times his closest family members gathered together was when he killed them all.

'_No, no, no, no. nononoonononononoNONONONONONONONO!'_

Tsuna shoved Hayato back, more forcefully than intended-_I've done much worse, these hands have done so much _worse-the silverette crashing into Takeshi with a stunned gaze-_at least not fear, but he should be _scared.

Tsuna was nearly hyperventilating at this point. He had escaped to the darkness to avoid this, and those bastards brought him back by force. He refused. He refused to let them control him like this. He was so tired, so done. He met the eyes of his guardians-his elements, his _life_-all concerned for him, nothing but worry in their gazes-_because they don't know, theydon'tknowtheydon'tknowhowcouldtheyeverknow-_and felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't do this anymore. Never again. The dam broke, and tears started flooding down his face. He was so. Fucking._ Done_.

"What do you want from me?" His intended scream came out as little more than a broken whisper, the words pouring from his mouth without conscious thought, "Please, just make it stop. Just stop. Make it stop. Please, just please. I can't do this. Stop. I don't want this. Please." Like a broken record the words flowed from him of their own volition. He curled up and stared unblinkingly at nothing in particular. He was afraid if he closed his eyes he would open them only to find his family dead in front of him. He knew he was breaking, and that would be the last strike.

His family's flames swirled around him in a wash of _healcomfortlovehomesafe,_ and Tsuna basked in it, hoping beyond all hope the bastards keeping him trapped here would find it somewhere in their cold, dead hearts to let him leave this hell of all hells.

His sight was blocked by a pair of onyx eyes, conveying a melting pot of emotions Tsuna couldn't begin to comprehend. A flash of pain.

It all fades to black.

•■•■•■•

48 hours.

48 hours was how long it took for Tsuna to be captured by an enemy famiglia with a veritable army of Mists.

30 Mists.

30 Mists was all it took to entrap their Sky and bring him to the breaking point.

They hadn't the slightest idea as to what he had endured. But they could guess. They could tell it was horrifying enough to make him break down in front of them. Horrifying enough to make him send his Storm halfway across the room.

Horrifying enough to make him subconsciously lash out at them when Reborn first knocked him out. They were lucky Takeshi managed to fully put him to sleep before he injured any of them. Because they knew their Sky would hate himself forever if he did.

Their boss had been returned home safe, but not sound.

They couldn't help but think, looking at their boss fitfully sleeping in the back seat of the van, how close they had come to truly losing him. They were lucky. It would take a while, possibly years, but he would heal. He would never be the same, the mental scars would always be there, but he would get better. They would make sure of it.

They needed their Sky just as much as he needed them.

•■•■•■•

"How is he?"

Mukuro pulls back, frowning deeply as he smoothes back Tsuna's fringe, the hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

"The withdrawal is going as well as it can. I'd give two, maybe three more days before he's back to a normal level. Having your flames inundated with such a large amount of a different one for such a long time is never a good thing. We're lucky we realized the problem before it got out of hand."

Hayato nodded, for once not feeling his usual ire for the Mist guardian, as he had been key for Tsuna's survival this past week. Tsuna's flames had adjusted to the constant exposure of such a large amount of Mist flames, he had begun going through the equivalent of hardcore drug withdrawal. Thus there was the need for Mukuro to slowly wean their Sky off of the flames, his harmonization factor out of whack from the sudden lack of input.

The two men shared a look, Hayato not quite willing to voice his gratitude, but Mukuro seeing and accepting it nonetheless. The two left Tsuna to his sleep, the brunette stuck in the infirmary until he was well enough to wake up. They hated having to put him in a coma like this, but the one thing that made it okay was it was supposedly a dreamless one.

Hopefully he experienced nothing but black.

•■•■•■•

Reborn sat patiently waiting for his Sky to wake up. Ryohei had deemed him physically well enough to bring him out of the induced coma, and Reborn had firmly declared that Tsuna was only allowed one visitor at a time until he realized he was no longer in the illusionary world. Of course, he then insisted upon being the first visitor. No one dared argue for long, and Reborn was more than happy to pull the husband card.

He fiddled with the titanium band that usually sat on his ring finger, uncharacteristically anxious. The small, orange tourmaline gems dotted around its circumference shone in the light of the setting sun, scattering rays of orange about the room. Its pair was settled in its place on Tsuna's hand, Reborn having removed the titanium and yellow tourmaline band from the chain Tsuna always hung it on when he was out on Official Business. He found some comfort in seeing it in its rightful place. Something normal and _right_ amidst a world of chaos and _wrongness_.

He'd never seen Tsuna so lifeless before the day they found him in that enemy base. His skin pale and sickly, floating so still in the water of that wretched torture tank he may as well have been dead. The wave of relief that had hit him when they took out the Mists-sitting around him like a cult around a sacrifice-and Tsuna began to wake up was nigh unbearable. They'd barely been married a year-together for nearly three-and if Tsuna were taken from him fifty years from now it would still be too soon.

The hitman was pulled from his thoughts when movement caught his eye. Tsuna shifted in the bed, beginning to awaken. The brunette suddenly shot up straight, gasping. Terror was evident in his expression, before turning to confusion, and then finally relief. Reborn could only guess what Tsuna must be thinking-he never was a _mind_ reader, simply very good at people reading. When the brunette's dull brown gaze finally fell on the sole other occupant of the room, and Reborn was met with a resigned, lifeless stare, the hitman could only wish they had kept a few of those _bastardos_ alive so he could slowly and painfully torture them to death.

"Dame-Tsuna, you were taken captive by the Ricordo Famiglia. You were held under a powerful Mist illusion for nearly 48 hours. You are back home, safe. Your Elements are all safe and well." Reborn's voice came out a bit more emotional than he planned, but something told him Tsuna wasn't really paying attention to that. The brunette seemed to be struggling to accept his husband's words. A dry, humourless laugh burst from Tsuna's chest, his face still devoid of any expression other than resignation. He didn't even respond, simply laying back in the cot and resting his gaze on Reborn's face.

Frowning, Reborn took Tsuna's hand, unsure for the first time in a very long time. He could manipulate a cow into thinking it could fly, but he couldn't imagine how to make Tsuna believe he was out of whatever horror-land those sons of bitches created inside his mind. He noticed that Tsuna's gaze had caught on Reborn's wedding ring, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Reborn realized after a moment why Tsuna seemed surprised. No one outside Tsuna's guardians and a few of the Arcobaleno-namely Mammon, because of course-knew about their marriage. It was, for the most part, the best kept secret in the Mafia. Tsuna's captors couldn't have been able to add in such a detail. Tsuna's free hand immediately went to his neck, and before he could panic or come to some strange conclusion, Reborn grabbed his hand and held it up to his face, allowing him to see that his ring was right where it should be.

"I'll say it once more, Dame-Tsuna. Listen close," Reborn said, pleased when Tsuna's gaze met his own once more, this time surprise and the faintest glimmer of hope within his eyes, "You were held captive by the Ricordo Famiglia for 48 hours. We rescued you. You are home. You are safe."

Reborn couldn't bring himself to be surprised when Tsuna burst into tears and pulled away from his grasp, shaking his head. He knew it would take time for Tsuna to differentiate reality from his nightmare, the Mist's illusion woven so thoroughly that he had no doubt it had felt real the entire time. They would simply have to wait patiently by his side, as long as it took.

Even if it took forever.


End file.
